Art
Welcome to our exploration of art, artists, and art history.
When learning from home, it is understandable that not everyone will have access to the art supplies we use at school. Nevertheless, there are some art projects that you can create with supplies that are (likely) available in your home.
I've presented a selection of art projects, below, that can be created using a variety of materials. Each project is inspired by an art masterpiece.
Click on each photo to expand the art project. Examine the art masterpiece that inspires the project.
Read the list of materials. Do you have them at home?
Assemble your materials and read the instructions. Then, get creative and begin to make your masterpiece!
When learning from home, it is understandable that not everyone will have access to the art supplies we use at school. Nevertheless, there are some art projects that you can create with supplies that are (likely) available in your home.
I've presented a selection of art projects, below, that can be created using a variety of materials. Each project is inspired by an art masterpiece.
Click on each photo to expand the art project. Examine the art masterpiece that inspires the project.
- Who is the artist?
- When was the artwork made?
- What techniques did the artist use?
- What artistic concept (such as movement or use of colour) is portrayed in the art piece?
Read the list of materials. Do you have them at home?
Assemble your materials and read the instructions. Then, get creative and begin to make your masterpiece!
If you have...
Paper and a pencil
With just paper and a pencil, you can create various caricatures inspired by Claude Monet's work.
Using careful observation of objects in your yard or home, you can use a pencil and paper - and a little inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci - to sketch objects with great detail. Like Da Vinci, you can write notes about what you observe.
Paper, a pencil, and chalk (or crayons)
Use a paper and pencil to draw a face (or faces) and geometric shapes, like Senecio by Paul Klee. Then, colour each geometric shape with chalk. If you don't have chalk, use wax crayons to colour your artwork, instead.
Paper, a pencil, and felt pens
Using simple art supplies, you can make scribbles on a piece of paper, which you then draw over with a heavier pen (such as a black felt pen). Use your creativity, like Pablo Picasso with his artwork, Ball Players on the Beach, to "see" shapes that appear in your scribbles.
Coloured paper and scissors
Instead of using paint and a paintbrush (as suggested in the instructions), use coloured paper and scissors to cut objects you have drawn, like a guitar and table presented in Guitar and Table in Front of a Window by Pablo Picasso. Cut the objects you have drawn with straight lines and rearrange them on a background.
Magazines, scissors, and glue
With only magazines, scissors, glue and paper, you can create an interesting art piece inspired by The Listening Room by René Magritte.
Instead, you could tear lots of coloured scraps of paper from magazines, then arrange and glue them to form a face. Try to find lots of different tones of the same colour to create skin, hair, eyes, a nose, and lips. Take inspiration from the faces that are presented in The Empress Theodora with Her Retinue from Ravenna, Italy.
Crayons, pencil crayons, or felts
If you don't have paints, you can still create this piece of art. Use crayons, pencil crayons, and felts instead. From your supplies, create a cool version of your picture (greens, blues, and purples), and a warm version of your picture (reds, oranges, and yellows), to recreate an art piece inspired by The Cradle by Berthe Morisot.
If you don't have paints at home, you can still create a picture using a pointillism technique. Use the tip of felt pens to create dots of colour on your page and create a replica of Port-en-Bessin by Georges Seurat.
Paints, a paintbrush, and a paper plate
You can also use a Q-tip (cotton swab) to create dots of colour on your paper plate rather than a paintbrush. To create artwork similar to this Aboriginal Artifact, use colours found in nature: browns, oranges, yellows, black and white.
Instead of a paper plate, use a regular piece of paper and inspiration from Vincent Van Gogh to create your own The Starry Night. If you have cardboard or a comb, add texture to your masterpiece by "combing" the paint in the foreground. Use a paintbrush or your fingers to add texture to the clouds and stars in the sky.
A potato, a skewer, and tomato sauce
Let's get creative! Instead of using a printing block, use half a potato (or kūmara). Instead of using paint, use ketchup. Instead of an orange stick, use a skewer, toothpick, or chopstick. And instead of using paper, use a plate from your kitchen. Brush your potato with tomato sauce and then stamp your plate with the potato. Take a photo of your print, inspired by Young Hare by Albrecht Durer.
Soap and a nail file
Using a bar of soap and a nail file (or plastic knife), you can carve a soap head, inspired by The Madonna of the Stairs by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Add details like eyebrows, hair, cheeks, and a mouth.
A collection of interesting objects
Using paper, glue, and a variety of household objects - such as string, fabric, ribbon, aluminum foil, sponge, or buttons - you can create a masterpiece inspired by Vertumnus by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.
Using coloured tissue paper, wrapping paper, yarn, string, fabrics, tape and glue, you can create your own art piece inspired by Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. If you have gold or silver foil, your creation will have an even greater "pop".
Instead, you might like to use your collection of household objects to make a collection inspired by Merzbild by Kurt Schwitters. Arrange small toys, plants, craft items, advertisements, and other objects from your home and garden in a small box (such as a shoebox). If you have paint available, paint the inside of the box a bright colour. Or, line the box with wrapping paper for an interesting look.
Dried beans, peas, lentils, corn and glue
Glue differently-coloured dried goods - like beans, peas, and corn - on a small piece of paper to make a mosaic of an animal. Take inspiration from the Pompeii mosaic, Beware of the Dog.